as a complete beginner I am planning to make resin tiles for my bathroom and have been experimenting a couple ot times. As a lot has gone wrong with my experiments I have half a zillion questions and really hope to get some answers here:

1. I have used epoxy resin called Resin72. It is about 30 US$ per kilogram and hardens after 72 h. The necessary transparency is great but is it really the best material for my task or would there be a less expensive alternative that hardens faster without or ignorable quality loss?

2. The tiles should be 8 mm thick and about 10 cm x 10 cm square. Is it possible to use a different colored and lower-priced resin for the background (1-2 mm), which dries faster than my epoxy? If so, which? Should this resin harden completely to not interfere with the transparency of a second layer or is it enough if it has become thick?

3. How do I minimize air bubbles in general and in particular when working with small inlays as sand, glitter or pellets?

4. Where can I find appropriate moulds for casting? Since I need a lot of tiles, I can not build my own forms. Is there anyone who does produce silicone or better polyplastic moulds for e.g. six tiles (6 tiles = 1 mould)? Who could I contact?

5. So far I have been experimenting with moulds of silicon (actually for baking cakes). On the sides the resin shifts upward in the mould (although I used a release agent) so that it has sharp edges all around. Can you avoid this by using other moulds or other casting techniques, or is it always like this? How do I grind off these edges best and what do I use? How can I get the edges smooth and transparent afterwards?

6. I want to give the tiles a very slight blue tinge (such as water). Unfortunately, the tile is no longer transparent, if I take too much which is less than a pinhead. The color is very economical. How do I portion the color in such a small quantity and always exactly the same?

I apologize for my complete lack of knowledge. Please help if you can.